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LAHORE, Dec 7: The Punjab government on Friday transferred and posted around 12 senior administrative officials in pursuance of a recent decision to fill all vacant posts and appoint all OSDs. The officials included four secretaries and five DCOs.

Sources said Chief Secretary Nasir Khosa, who had announced the decision in a recent meeting of administrative secretaries, had also asked each department to post all OSDs within a week.

The OSDs included officers whom the government wanted to sideline as well as those who did not want to work until a posting of their choice. Sources said the chief secretary wanted to discourage both these trends.

All officers were asked to immediately take charge of their new assignments.

Local Government Secretary Khizar Hayat Gondal was appointed as the additional chief secretary. The post had been lying vacant for several months. With Gondal’s posting, Housing Secretary Mirza Suhail Aamir was relieved of the additional charge of the post.

OSD Jalal Sikandar Raja, currently undergoing the National Management Course in Germany, was posted as the local government secretary in Gondal’s place. Raja, before attending the management course, served as services secretary for over three years. He is credited with rationalising the earlier policy of the present government to reshuffle the entire administrative machinery every now and then, and successfully handling various difficult situations such as strikes by provincial officers. He has also served as the C&W secretary. Raja is expected to assume charge of his post on Dec 11.

OSD Azmat Ali Ranjha was posted as agriculture secretary, relieving BoR Member Colonies Waseem Mukhtar of the additional charge of the post. The post had fallen vacant because of the sudden transfer of Mian Mushtaq, reportedly over resisting an attempt of a powerful group within the bureaucracy to use the Agriculture Department’s land in Kala Shah Kaku for a road linking a private property to the GT Road.

Punjab Privatisation Board Chairman Anwar Rashid was transferred and posted as the environment secretary. The post had fallen vacant last month due to the sudden death of Saeed Iqbal Wahla.

Gujranwala DCO Amin Chaudhry was transferred and posted as the Faisalabad DCO, relieving Faisalabad Development Authority Director General Waheed Akhtar Ansari of the additional charge of the post. OSD Najam Ahmad Shah was posted as the Gujranwala DCO.